by
Brendon Nafziger, DOTmed News Associate Editor | September 27, 2012
"If you believe that (is going to happen), I've got a bridge that goes over to Brooklyn that you can have for a really low price," Lumpkin said.
Lumpkin also believes that some of the Republican governors who say they will not participate in the expansion of Medicaid are going to be singing a different tune pretty soon. Hospitals eating expenses for patients without health insurance, knowing that there's "free money for uncovered patients," will lobby their state governments to relent, he predicts.
"After the election, reality is going to sink in," he said.
Big data
Legislation isn't he only route to change, of course. Computer models founded on "big data" could better enable doctors to model disease processes and identify hotspots where cheaper, earlier interventions could save money in the long run.
For instance, in Camden, N.J., health analysts found that just two buildings in the city were responsible for nearly $27 million in health care costs. The researchers sent nurse-practitioners to interview patients in the building, and found many ultimately costly problems were easily fixed. One man, who frequently showed up in the ER in a diabetic coma, for example, simply didn't know how to draw insulin properly into his syringe.
"One intervention helped save money," Lumpkin said.
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Galen Hiveley
The Unaffordable Health Care Act
September 27, 2012 09:13
"found America fell below the UK, Germany and France for mortality rates for conditions, amenable to health care interventions"
We have to keep in mind though, this is with our present health care system. Our health care system could end up at the bottom of the heap rated to other countries around the World, once the Affordable Health Care Act is fully implemented.
I certainly haven't been convinced yet of almost anything in the ACC that is a change for the better. The total health care system dollars are 1/6 of our total GDP. That's a huge number. As our nations debt continues to climb without any answers from Washington in sight, it is not a wonder why Washington has wanted their fingers in the pie of the health care system for some time. It will give them some cash flow and that's the bottom line.
Is that going to fix or help fix the debt problem? No. It might look that way at first because there will be added revenue (cash flow) in the beginning. The same as when the Social Security System first started. Looked good at the start and then look at where it is today.
If interest rate rise, I doubt if they take all they can finagle from health care system, that it will be enough to even cover our interest payment on the national debt, but I guess they figure it's worth a try. It's in far worse shape than the health care system so then ask yourself this simple question. Is our government fixing the national debt problem? That answer should be obvious.
They aren't even trying. Is Social Security Solvent?
How anyone could ever think that the federal government could manage something the size of health care given our governments previous track record of trying to manage, oversee or regulate anything, they have to be living on some other plane of reality than where I live. Could they make the system worse? Of course, they can do that without even trying so imagine how bad it will be when they do try.
Is the ACC going to fix the problems with our present health care system? I think you'd stand a better chance of being struck by lightning than that ever coming true.
I'm not saying that our present system doesn't have problems and it needs some changes, but for our government to jump into the middle of it? It's going to be worse than throwing gasoline on a fire!
The best thing they can do with the Affordable Health Care Act would be to throw it out and start over. Once they have a new bill, put it before the American people to vote whether they want it or not. That is one major mistake they made with ACC from the start. All every American citizen got was something thrown together, thrown at us and they said, "here it is, like it or not, it is law".
I know and talk to people that are doctors to the person working at the corner store and people in between. I have yet to talk to one person that believes the ACC is a good idea nor one person that is in favor of it. Since it was made law anyway should tell us one thing, there needs to be a "House cleaning" in Washington. And election day is not that far off.
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